Dec. 29, 2005
Bloomington, IN – Iowa opened the 2005-06 Big Ten season with a 65-53 loss to Indiana Thursday night at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Crystal Smith led the Hawkeyes with 14 points while Krista VandeVenter grabbed eight rebounds in the loss.
After a back and forth first half, Indiana used a 14-0 run in the final 6:47 of the half to gain a 27-16 lead. Wendy Ausdemore nailed a three-pointer as time expired to cut the halftime deficit to 27-19. Ausdemore’s three-pointer was Iowa’s first bucket in the half since the 7:05 minute mark.
Starting center Megan Skouby picked up two quick fouls in the first two and a half minutes of the game and played only two minutes in the first half.
Iowa’s 2-3 zone defense held the Hoosiers to 2-10 three-point shooting in the first half. Indiana could not capitalize on six first half offensive rebounds, scoring only four second chance points.
The Hoosiers opened up their biggest lead at 16 points with 13:53 left, using an 8-0 capped by a three-point play by Jenny DeMuth. Iowa cut the lead to six at the 7:28 mark with a 9-0 run, all of which were three-point baskets. Lindsey Nyenhuis drained her first basket of the game and back-to-back three-pointers by Crystal Smith cut the Hoosier lead to 43-36.
Indiana fought back and gained a nine point lead with 1:58 left, but a three-point play by Crystal Smith cut the Hoosier lead to six once again. This was the closest Iowa would come to gaining a lead as the Hoosiers sunk six free throws down the stretch for the final advantage.
Skouby recorded 10 points and two blocks in only 19 minutes of action while VandeVenter played the entire 40 minutes. Kristi Smith added six assists for the Hawkeyes.
Indiana was led by Cyndi Valentin who scored a game-high 20 points. Jenny DeMuth notched a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds while Angela Hawkins scored 12 for the Hoosiers. Indiana outscored Iowa 28-18 in the paint while outrebounding the Hawkeyes 41-31.
Ausdemore was 2-2 from the charity stripe, increasing her season and career total to a perfect 14-14.
The Hawkeyes return to action on New Year’s Day against Illionis inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip is set for 2 p.m.